Tortured
by The one-winged pegasus
Summary: SoraxRiku Once Sora enters the 'world in between' to try to find Riku again, he finds himself paired up on a journey with someone who has got the wrong end of the stick...
1. Darkness

Hello! It's the holidays, and I'm bored, so I decided to try my hand at writing a little bit of yaoi. It's a one off thing, it's just a little RxS for all you peeps out there while I bother to write the rest of my other story.  
  
Disclaimer- I don't own Kingdom hearts, nor will I ever own it for that matter. I also don't own the lyrics to 'Going Under' by Evanescence.  
  
This is just a one-off story, but I would appreciate feed back etc. so maybe I can try writing some more like this...maybe.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Tortured.  
  
It was hopeless. I stood in the middle of the path, staring at the ground. My weapon fell from my hand and dropped to the ground. I didn't bother to pick it up, it was pointless trying to fight in the state that I am in. I was going to be stuck here, but there was no point in taking a weapon with me. I had no intention of staying here, or any other place in this intolerable world, without you. I feel so pitiful, so meaningless, I couldn't save you.  
  
Now I will tell you what I've done for you  
  
I stumbled down the path, dragging my feet along the ground, panting. I glanced behind me, shadows were watching me from every direction. Their steely glares piercing through my skin. I felt naked underneath their stony stares. They knew I was weak, they could see it in my eyes, as they watched the floor and they could see it in the way I was walking so slowly because of my countless wounds.  
  
50 thousand tears I've cried  
  
How did I get to this situation, since when had I been this careless? I had lost the support of my friends, in fact all hope was lost now, walking down a long, winding road with no light at the end of it. It almost seemed like a death wish. It will be a death wish soon, I could feel the presence of the shadows moving nearer, their eyes gleaming, waiting for the chance to strike, I had lost the will to fight. I would just lie willingly on the floor as they tore the raw flesh from my feeble bones. I would enjoy the sensation of dying, knowing that I could no longer be a burden to this world.  
  
screaming, deceiving and bleeding for you,  
  
I walked on further, each step a huge effort. My limbs ached, being bruised through and through. It was worth it though, to see you one last time, even if it didn't go as planned. I sighed. Why didn't I just throw myself into the shadows now? It would be easier, and quicker, but something told me to carry on, there was hope near the end of this path. I dragged my feet on further, panting from the effort and lack of oxygen in the place. Until I could bear it no longer.  
  
but you still won't hear me.  
  
I flopped to the floor and held my face in my hands, feeling the scars and lines that woe has cast upon me. I can't recall how long I sat for in that tunnel, hoping to hear your voice, pleading for it to come, but the silence was deafening and that was all I could hear. Before I could give up completely, I did hear something. The sweeping sound of wings. I raised my pathetic head and saw a lone white dove circling above me. I held out my arm, ready for it to land. I watched it's grace and beauty as it softly landed on my arm, it's claws slightly digging into my arm, it felt blissful in comparison to the gashes that marred my arm.  
  
I don't want your hand this time I'll save myself  
  
The dove looked at me for a second, then began edging it's way along my arm, to my shoulder and nuzzled into my neck. I was too much at peace to notice the shadows creeping up behind me, they encircled where I was sitting, gradually crawling closer and closer. Their claws bared maliciously and snarling. I sat in a daze, I suppose you could liken it to when you are about to die and memories from your life flash before your eyes. I saw my child hood, exploring the island, sunbathing, building sand castles, I saw my early teens, the gummi ship, Kairi, lots of friendly faces. Then I saw yesterday.  
  
Kneeling on the floor, with you in my arms, your beautiful hair caked with blood and dirt, the wound on your chest seeping with crimson, the pained look in your eyes. It was too much, I began to sob. You raised your hand to my cheek and gave a weak smile  
  
"Don't cry, please Sora?" He pleaded, looking into my sapphire eyes with his own emerald ones. I nodded, wiping tears from my face. There was a long pause, "Goodbye..." His eyes welled up with tears and I bent down and kissed him for the last time.  
  
"I love you," I said simply, watching Riku slip slowly away from me, a small smile escaped his lips to show me that he understood, but then he was gone, I felt his hand fall away from my face and I cried, even though I knew it would annoy him if he was still here. I don't know when I stopped crying, because all I remember is ending up here.  
  
maybe I'll wake up for once  
  
The flashbacks stopped abruptly as a sword was thrust through my back. It slid through, sticking out of my chest, blood pouring over my clothes and to the ground, it stained my hands and nails as I feebly tried to pull the sword out. The dove flew upwards, startled. I could feel my vision going foggy, I knew my life was slipping away. 'I'll see you soon' I thought.  
  
My chin was being lifted up and I raised my eyes from the floor to see who it was that relieved me from this world. It was the one who had killed Riku. My insides filled with hate as my life came to an end. I hate that bastard...  
  
Ansem.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Yeah, so please tell me what you think etc. So that I know whether there is any point in me writing this sort of story again.  
  
xxx One-winged Pegasus xxxx 


	2. The world in between

Hey everyone. Thanks for your lovely reviews, and a special thanks to Mahou Shoujo Crystalic Katomi who has now persuaded me to write more, thank you! Instead of starting a new story, I thought that I would carry on with this one, cos I thought of a way to turn it into a story, so yay. Thank you to EVERYONE. You all make me feel so happy...you're too kind *sniff*  
  
Disclaimer- I don't own any Square-Enix copyrighted material, Kingdom Hearts or otherwise.  
  
So, on with the story that was only supposed to be a one-off, but yeah...I change my mind!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Oh, my head," I sat up, holding my aching head. Hang on a minute, if I can feel my head, then that means...  
  
"I'm not DEAD!!!!" I shouted, jumping up, grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"Yeah, yeah we know, so keep it down." Came a voice from a desk to my left, I looked over to see an old woman sitting there. She had grey hair and twinkling blue eyes, which stared at me through round spectacles, perched on her little button nose. When she spoke it wasn't said unkindly, but in an exasperated voice, as if she had heard it all before. She returned to some paper work.  
  
"So, umm where am I?" I walked over to her, looking curiously around the room where I was currently positioned. There was a large fan on the ceiling which whirred pleasantly, creating a cool breeze. The walls where white and spotless, the tiled floor looking much the same as the walls. She took her glasses off her nose, cleaned them and looked me in the eye.  
  
"You're in the world in between."  
  
"Huh?" I was confused, what did she mean?  
  
"It's between the real world, and the underworld or otherworld, depending on how good you are."  
  
"Say what?" Now she looked annoyed  
  
"It's where you go when you die in the real world. You stay here for a while, so a few tests to determine whether you go to the underworld or the otherworld." She looked at the blank expression on my face, "Heaven and hell." I nodded to show I understood. "You have to register in this office, with me, then get to the brink at the other end. It's a big chasm, you can't miss it."  
  
"So, how do I get there?" She sighed and pulled out a chair for me to sit on, muttering something about a waste of her time explaining to a person like me.  
  
"You go in twos. I pair you up with someone who arrives within a few days of you and you travel down the path to the brink. Mind you, it's not easy, the path isn't always straight, it can twist, have many crossroads, you name it. Not that I've ever been down it."  
  
"So, I can be paired up with anyone who arrives here within a few days of me?"  
  
She sighed, "Sorry dear, your little 'friend' has already started his journey." I was gob smacked, how did she know I knew Riku? And how did she know...I was cut of by her continuing.  
  
"The twos are as follows, one of you is a speaker, and the other a fighter. The speaker talks to people you encounter, while the fighter stands and watches, and they determine your path through communication. The fighter obviously fights the battles when they appear, while the speaker watches. This is important. The speaker and fighter must NOT interfere with each other's business. Is that clear?"  
  
"Yes," I nodded, thinking about what I was going to be.  
  
"Now that's explained, I need to find you a partner. Hmm, people turn up here for many reasons you know." She started flicking though papers, her eyes darting from name to name, "Some just get lost, some give up on living, they're not actually dead, other's die, other's end up here by mistake, but there's no going back now." She was looking at two sheets, as if trying to choose.  
  
I stared at the floor, wondering where Riku was. I missed him. "Here we go," She thrust a piece of paper under my nose, "I looked at a grinning picture on the page. "That's your partner, he's the fighter, and you're the speaker, any questions?"  
  
"What's his name?" I looked at the paper, taking in his features, floppy red fringe; orange, gleaming eyes, a big grin and slightly tanned skin. He looked a bit of a devil really.  
  
"As the speaker, that is your first task. Oh, before I forget, you can choose one thing to take with you, as a speaker, you need to look in this box." She hauled an ordinary cardboard box onto the table, I looked inside. Notebooks, pens, compasses, atlases, maps, and all that sort of junk stared back at me. I rummaged through the box, looking for something, anything that may be of help. At the bottom, I saw a small heart shaped locket on a golden chain. I picked it up, out of the box, just to take a look, but the old woman snatched the box away.  
  
"You made your choice," I was about to open my mouth to protest, but something told me not to, so I put the necklace in my pocket. "Any more questions? I got a lot of people coming through from a war soon, and I want you outta here."  
  
"Umm, where is he?"  
  
"Through that door dear." I turned and noticed a white door with a round, silver handle. I walked up to it, and pushed it open. I took a step into the land outside and the door slammed shut behind me and wouldn't open, I was alone. I looked ahead of me; there was a hill that seemed to stretch up to the heavens. I could see light at the top, perhaps the sunset? So I trudged up it. I took the locket out of my pocket, it wouldn't open, but on the back, there was a small engraving of a dove. I remembered the dive from before and I felt stronger. Although most of the scars were still there, they didn't hurt, they just served as a reminder.  
  
Once I reached the top, I saw the boy from the photo grinning at me. He held a strangely familiar sword; it was a bat's wing...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ta da! Hope ya lot like it, it took me a while to devise how this works out to be a story, there will be more action/romance stuff next chapter, this was sorta an introduction. I won't write for a while, till I get back from holiday, so don't be surprised if this doesn't get updated.  
  
Please give feedback, thanks  
  
xxx The one-winged Pegasus xxx 


	3. The first obstacle

THANK YOU!!!! You're all so kind! I'm back from my 'wonderful' holiday...and I had plenty of time to think about this story, believe me.  
  
Disclaimer- I don't own any copyrighted material I use.  
  
So, on we go. Oh, and by the way, the fighter is made up, he's my OC, so it's not Wakka :p  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Where the hell did you get that sword?" I shouted at him, I was mad, that was Riku's sword, why did he have it? The boy turned to face me, he was about my age, maybe a little older, but he was taller than me by about 2 heads, even with my hair.  
  
"Whoa, what's the fuss?" He asked, holding his arms out questioningly.  
  
"Where did you get that sword?" I repeated, staring into his cold eyes,  
  
"My old man gave it to me if you must know." He looked at me like I was a psycho, and I certainly felt like one at that moment in time.  
  
"Oh, sorry. Someone I knew had a sword like that, and I thought that maybe..." I trailed off, looking at the floor.  
  
"Hey, it's alright," he patted me on the back, seemingly reassuringly, but I noticed his gaze wandering and I knew he didn't mean it. "So, who are you exactly?"  
  
I looked up at him, "I'm Sora, you're supposed to travel down here with me, to the brink or something."  
  
"Oh yeah, that old bag said something about that, I'm Glenn." He stuck out his hand. I didn't shake it, after noticing the scars on his wrist. He followed my line of vision.  
  
"Ok, so life wasn't so peachy for me, but what you gonna do?" He pulled his sleeve down, looking embarrassed. "We better get going," he stated to the air, rather than my face, shouldered the familiar blue and red sword and walked off down the hill.  
  
I looked after the 'fighter', he looked like he was better at speaking, but I suppose they put you at a disadvantage here, to prove yourself. Seeing as how I had done a lot of fighting before, I guess I had to think things through now. After all, if I had learned to think things through, maybe I wouldn't be here now... I followed him down the hill.  
  
The view was pretty spectacular, now that I bothered to look. The path was made of gravel, but it seemed to glow as the sunset descended into the hills in the distance. The sun's golden rays bathed the surrounding fields in golden light and small chaffinches flew out of the towering trees and dancing around the sky. It was perfect here. Maybe this was heaven...  
  
I followed Glenn down the path, he was striding ahead, confident enough to know which way he wanted to go, but maybe too shy to talk to me. I reckon he was just being cautious. He marched off down the path, moving at top speed, his black trainers barely making a sound, but kicking up small dust clouds as he travelled quickly.  
  
I took longer, just dawdling down the path, admiring the beauty of the nature around me. Not that I'm some tree hugger or anything, but I was amazed that I'd never once noticed how great nature was... I occasionally checked where Glenn was, just in case he decided to ditch me, but he didn't.  
  
Glenn acted quite differently to how I had imagined from the picture of him I saw in the office. I thought that he might be awkward or irritating, but he wasn't like that. Despite his appearance, he seemed to be ok; maybe it was just his eyes. They looked so cruel, but he wasn't like that at all. Oh well, looks can be deceiving. Then a shout interrupted my thoughts,  
  
"Oi, Sora! Come over here." I looked up, dragging my eyes away from my surroundings to jog over to where Glenn stood. He now had both of his long sleeves pulled down. "There's something up ahead, and it doesn't look pretty."  
  
I stared into the distance, until I saw what he was referring to. A huge shadow loomed across the road. The object's huge body was blocking the light out from the sun. It was moving towards us at an alarming rate, despite its size.  
  
"Ok, what choices do we have?" I asked, looking round at Glenn, who was biting his lip.  
  
"Erm, well we've either gotta talk to it, or fight it." It was getting closer now; I could see a manic expression on its overly large face and steady drips of drool falling from its monstrous mouth to the ground.  
  
"It doesn't look very friendly..." I watched it approach with increasing fear, when I had been fighting with the Keyblade, maybe I wouldn't have been scared, knowing that I had a weapon in my hand. Then it would have been just another fight, but now I was weapon less and this thing didn't look like it had a big enough brain to string two words together.  
  
"Yeah, well good luck." Glenn backed off just as the creature reached us. I turned around to protest, but I found myself being lifted up off the ground by a huge sticky hand. I turned to face the creature and flinched.  
  
Its head was easily three times the size of mine, with a huge mouth stretching the whole width of its face. The mouth was filled with thousands of shiny pointed teeth, all covered with saliva. A huge purple tongue hung limply out of its mouth, dripping with spit. As it brought me closer to its mouth, a huge glob of saliva landed on my arm, I yelped and tried desperately to brush it off. My arm went cold and I bet it was due to the saliva.  
  
The smell was horrendous, this monster was breathing down my neck and I was choking on a smell that I couldn't even pinpoint. Why wasn't Glenn doing anything? Then I realised what the woman had said, 'This is important. The speaker and fighter must NOT interfere with each other's business.' I decided to do something, rather than accept my second death.  
  
"Umm, ex-excuse me..." I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and continued, "Y- You're in our way and we'd like to get past. I opened my eyes and looked at the monster carefully. It lifted me up so I was level with its tiny yellow eyes, which were stuck just above its mouth. It seemed to be considering what I said. "We have an erm...important banquet to attend, and if you let us go, we'll bring you back food."  
  
I waited for a minute, just waiting for the monster to eat me, and then it dropped me to the floor so suddenly I gasped as I landed painfully on top of my leg, which was at a funny angle, apparently you still got hurt here. I dragged myself backwards, just as it sat on the floor, nearly crushing me. A smile was playing on its lips, as it opened its mouth wide,  
  
"Fooooooooooooooooooooooood," came out of its mouth in a huge rumbling breath that knocked me over backwards.  
  
"Uh-huh," I said weakly. I sat up, "Lots of food, if you let us pass." It bowed its head down, which I took for a nod and assumed that this was over, seeing as how the monster was snoring. "Ugh..." I collapsed on the floor.  
  
"Well done," Glenn came over and knelt down next to me, he dragged me up to a sitting position. "Lets get going, I'm sure you don't wanna sleep by that thing," he gestured over to the monster that was still snoring.  
  
"Ok," I agreed, but my arm still felt cold and numb and my ankle hurt. I dragged myself up with my good arm, using Glenn as a support and hobbled off down the road. When we were out of earshot of the monster,  
  
"Hey, where exactly are we going to get loads of food from?" Glenn asked me, turning off into a side road, which had a large tree at the bottom.  
  
"I dunno, by the time it wakes up, it'll probably have forgotten about us anyway." I added, sitting down by the roots of the tree. It was dark now and the stars were out in the sky. After a while, I turned my head towards Glenn, who was staring at the sky as well,  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
"What?" He looked puzzled,  
  
"Well, the lady said people are here for lots of different reasons, and I thought you might not actually be dead or something,  
  
"Oh, well I am. It wasn't a peaceful death either," he added, he paused for a minute, as if debating whether to carry on. "I had a big argument with my dad one night, which ended pretty badly." He lifted his beanie hat to reveal a huge bullet wound which was encrusted with blood. Parts of his hair had been singed off and it looked like the back of his head had been blasted open. He quickly replaced the hat on his head.  
  
"Yeah I looked like that when I first saw," He noted, looking at the shocked expression on my face, "but it's alright now, it doesn't hurt. I just wish I had hurt my dad too." He looked at me, "So, what about you?"  
  
"Well, I got stabbed, but you can't see it unless I take this top off, which I'm not going to." Glenn nodded, "I got lost in darkness, and I had no-one left, then I gave up and this sword came right through me and I ended up here."  
  
"Oh...when you say you had no-one left, what do you mean?" I thought Glenn was being a bit nosy, but seeing as how I was going to have to travel with him, I thought I'd tell.  
  
"Erm, someone very special to me, came here as well, about a day before. The person who killed them got me as well." I looked down at the floor, now I really didn't want to have to talk about it.  
  
"So, who is it?" I looked up at him, "The lucky girl I mean." Uh-oh, how was I gonna explain this. Kairi found it weird enough. At first, she refused to talk to me, then told everyone she knew. News travels fast and then it was just me and Riku, alone. I'd known her for so many years and she couldn't accept it, so how was this guy I met today gonna understand.  
  
"Erm...well, y'see, it's not...what I mean is...oh forget it." I closed my eyes, not looking at Glenn, feeling myself blush.  
  
"It's ok if you don't wanna talk about it. I'm sure we'll find her." I didn't have the heart to correct him, when he was trying to understand. I just nodded and turned my head away, as if to signal the end of the conversation.  
  
I heard Glenn sigh and slide down to the floor and hopefully sleep, which was something I didn't do all night.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Woohoo, ok, cos the hols are nearly over, I'm gonna update every weekend, well as much as I can, so watch out for another update soon.  
  
Feedback is always appreciated.  
  
xxx The one-winged Pegasus xxx 


	4. Woods

Hiya! As scheduled I said I was going to update this weekend, so I keep my word. Ugh, I got so fat over Easter, too many eggs, I feel so sick, I haven't even finished them all...anyway.  
  
Disclaimer- I don't own any Square-Enix characters.  
  
Thanks for all your reviews by the way!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
I clamped my eyes shut to try and stop the sun waking my peaceful, dreamless sleep. I groaned and eventually opened them, reluctantly. It was just past dawn and a fresh smell lingered in the air. I stared out to the endless fields and sighed, this place was great and everything, but I wanted to see Riku. I remembered what happened yesterday and I wasn't so happy to be here. I looked around, where was Glenn?  
  
I couldn't see him, but once I looked into the branches of the oak tree, I saw him sitting on the tree, one leg dangling over the edge, the other bent with his foot on the branch, staring into the distance. I looked away. That was how Riku always used to sit on the paopu tree. That was where my last happiest moment had been and I didn't want to recount it to anyone quite yet.  
  
"Oh, you're awake!" Glenn jumped down from the tree, landing softly on the ground, it wasn't that high up, or I would have been amazed, "I was looking in the distance, and it looks like the road splits up ahead, I think we'd better get going." He wasn't mentioning our conversation either, good.  
  
After walking down the road for a while, I noticed something, "Hey, my ankle and my arm don't hurt any more." Glenn turned around and looked at my foot,  
  
"I guess not, must be temporary, seeing as how you're dead already, it can't really hurt you." I nodded, not liking him talking in such an off- hand way about being dead.  
  
The fields became less green as we walked onwards, often with weeds growing instead of flowers and crows watching us from gnarled trees rather than sparrows dancing merrily in the breeze. After what felt like a few miles of walking, we reached a crossroads. One path led into a dead looking wood with bats and fog ridden paths and the other looked like it went on forever, probably eventually taking us back to the hill at the beginning.  
  
Glenn was silent. I guess I had to make the decision. I wanted to get to the end, and I definitely didn't want to have to pass through that monster again, "We're taking the wood." I walked past Glenn who looked into the wood cautiously, then followed me, with seemingly new confidence.  
  
"Why did we have to come in here?" Glenn asked after a while, looking cautiously around. A chill breeze whipped around our ankles and the path ahead was obscured by fog. The trees seemed to watch our every move, creaking and groaning. Wolves howled in the distance and bats fluttered past our eyes more than a few times.  
  
"It seemed like a good idea at the time..." I was starting to get a bit freaked out now, the rustling in the bushes was getting closer and I didn't want to be faced with a pack of snarling wolves. The path kept twisting through the woods, so we didn't know what to expect, I half expected something to come and rip my neck open any minute, but as we went further in, the woods became more silent.  
  
I glanced at Glenn and guessed he was afraid of woods by the cautious way he walked and kept looking over his shoulder. I heard a faint cry and stopped in my tracks. Glenn stopped too, as he saw me halt.  
  
"What is it?" he asked, scurrying over to where I was, due to more movement from the bushes,  
  
"I heard something," I heard the faint echo of 'help' again and rushed off in the direction of the source.  
  
"Hey! Wait up!" Glenn called, following me. I ran along the path, sometimes tripping over loose stones and brushing tangling cobwebs out of my face that obscured my vision. Eventually, with a lot of difficulty, I turned a corner and saw a kid standing in the middle of the path. His eyes were full of tears underneath a purple hood and his tattered trousers signalled poverty to me. He looked completely helpless.  
  
I was about to approach him, when Glenn grabbed my arm and pulled me back. Panting, he whispered, "Look...over there," creeping up on the boy from behind were 3 gigantic wolves, looking extremely hungry. "You think you can talk to them?" I remembered then that I was supposed to think things through before rushing in. Glenn looked grim, then walked up to the wolves, drawing the bat-wing sword.  
  
I guess he was trying to make up for the fact that I had to talk to the monster yesterday when he could have probably beaten it easily. Glenn approached the wolves carefully with sword held in both hands, he ushered the boy to the side with a wave of his hand, and stood his ground, ready to fight.  
  
To tell you the truth, he wasn't actually that great. I know you're supposed to be put at a disadvantage here, to test you or whatever, but Glenn looked like he had learnt how to fight out a textbook and had never even practiced the actual techniques first-hand. I wasn't about to tell him that though. After a while, he had managed to win, not without getting scratched on the face twice, bitten on the arm and having half his trouser- leg torn off. Which in an amusing way reminded me of Tidus.  
  
Once the wolves were lying on the ground, Glenn sat on top of their bodies and stared at the floor, obviously worn out. I looked around for the kid, but he was nowhere to be seen. Some gratitude. I walked over to Glenn, who was panting as if he were a wolf himself.  
  
"Well done," I said, patting him on the back. He nodded in appreciation, but didn't say anything, as he shouldered his sword and walked onwards. I followed him slowly. The woods began to thin out after a while, with gaps of moonlight escaping through the branches of the trees and the fog gently dispersing.  
  
Once we emerged at the other end of the woods, a gigantic city loomed ahead of us. It was huge, with high-rise buildings, towers, flats, offices and flashing lights. I grinned and began to jog towards the city, overtaking Glenn, who was walking along slowly, inspecting his bite from the wolves. The moon lit up the roofs of the town, giving it a mysterious glow. I reached the city entrance, way before Glenn, who appeared a few minutes later, looking exhausted.  
  
We both walked into the city, amazed by the noise, compared to a nearly silent wood we had just been through. The streets were bathed in advertisements and people walking to and fro. A nearby bench looked like a safe haven, so we sat down, watching the people wander by. I looked at all the shops, which lined the streets, clothes, food, cameras, but none of them were somewhere we could stay. Not that we had any money for a hotel anyway.  
  
"Look at that," Glenn pointed to a poster. He had obviously got his breath back. I looked at the poster depicting a pretty young woman with long brown hair, big brown eyes and long beaded earrings. I read the text underneath.  
  
'Take part in the concert of a lifetime. If you think you have what it takes to sing, dance or even do the lighting come and join in. Accommodation and meals provided. Salary- 250-500 munny a night. (The concert lasts 3 days. Jobs given on a first come, first served basis) Auditions held in the city centre at 17:00. Don't be late!  
  
Added bonus- Meet Lenne, our special guest appearance.'  
  
"They must be really desperate." I sighed, looking away from the poster, who would want to work there anyway?  
  
"No, I mean if we get jobs in that, then we can rest up a while, and earn a bit of munny." Glenn looked as if he really wanted to work there. I looked him in the eye.  
  
"We don't need any money and we can sleep outside." There was no way I was going on stage.  
  
"Ok, you may not want that, but what about food?" he had got me, I was starving. I didn't want to admit it, but by the way Glenn was grinning, he already knew he'd won.  
  
"Fine, but only cos we might need to eat something." I stood up and ripped the flyer off the lamppost and looked at the writing again. A clock face on the tower nearby said it was 16:30. So that meant we had half an hour to find the city centre.  
  
"C'mon Sora, let's go." Glenn walked ahead and I followed him, rather grudgingly. I really hoped this wasn't going to end in embarrassment.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
There we go! Another. Sorry, I couldn't resist putting Lenne (FFX-2) in it. I won't put too many FF characters in it anyway, they have to be dead to be here and there aren't that many really.  
  
Feedback is always appreciated.  
  
xxx The One-winged Pegasus xxx 


	5. The auditions

Hello! As promised, I'm updating this weekend. Wow, this is the furthest I've ever got in a story so far. I'm so glad people are supporting me as I write this, thanks.  
  
Disclaimer- I don't own any Square-Enix copyrighted characters.  
  
Chapter 5 is it?  
  
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16:42. We still hadn't found the town centre. After following Glenn around for a while, he had managed to end up in a shopping centre, a supermarket, the local park, a children's playground and a street I never want to mention again. I decided to take charge.  
  
"Look Glenn," I said, exasperated, I was started to get annoyed now, "We're never gonna find this place by just running around like headless chickens. It might help to ask people where it is. People who live here perhaps."  
  
"Good idea." That was it. No 'I'm sorry' or 'I'm an idiot'. I was pissed off with Glenn now. Leading me around town and dragging me to some auditions. He didn't seem to notice the evils I was giving him, so I gave up and walked away in search of a person who might know where the town centre was. I saw a woman with a small child in a pram and thought that may be a safe person to ask.  
  
"Excuse me," I walked up to her and she turned her attention away from her bawling child, "Do you know where the town centre is?"  
  
"Oh, you must be here for the auditions. Yes, take that alleyway over there and keep walking, you'll get there soon enough." I thanked her and dragged Glenn over to the alley. He gulped and walked down first. Geez I swear he's afraid of everything.  
  
Hurrying along, I could hear muffled shouts and laughter from up ahead. Eventually, we emerged in the town centre. A huge fountain spewed water droplets in a mist over the crowds of people crowded there. A simple wooden structure had been set up as a stage on the other side of the fountain, with a wooden table and chairs in front of it. It must be where the auditions are being held.  
  
There was a kind of excited buzz in the air. A bell rang to signal that it was 5 o' clock and everyone gathered around the stage. An announcer walked out with a microphone in his hand.  
  
"Welcome to the auditions for our spectacular concert we're about to hold." He spoke in a real announcers tone. "You're all here to display your talents. If you think you can sing or dance, stay by the stage. Other tables around the square are for your alternative talents. Remember, we can only take on maximum 20 dancers, 5 back-up singers and 45 backstage hands, so show off and impress us."  
  
I now noticed the other tables around the square. I saw Glenn making a beeline for the stage; maybe he was going to dance? I ignored him and walked over to the not very popular lighting table. Within a minute, I had been given a ticket and been told I had the job, without even uttering the words 'I know how to work stage lighting'. True, I didn't have a clue, but it can't really be that hard.  
  
"Go over to that trailer by the stage, through the door you'll meet the receptionist. She'll then give you your back stage pass; you then walk through the door at the back of the trailer. That will get you to the dressing rooms. Wait there. You got that kid?"  
  
"Just about." I slowly walked off to the trailer, not paying attention to the group of crying girls who were leaning on each other for support; obviously they hadn't got in. They could do the lighting if they really wanted to, but I doubt that was as glamorous as singing on stage. Pushing my way through the crowds, I reached the trailer and pushed the rusting door open.  
  
The room was quite well furnished, I immediately realised that it wasn't actually a trailer, it was a building with the outside disguised as a trailer, obviously to deter nosy fans. I walked up to the desk. The receptionist took the ticket from me. She must have had a bit of trouble seeing as how her nails were so long they were like talons but she smiled at me and handed over a backstage pass.  
  
I looked at the piece of laminated paper on a piece of cord. It said 'Backstage pass. Chief of the lighting crew. 500 mpn (Munny per night). Unlimited admittance.' I stared at it again, Chief of the lighting crew? What are they on? Geez, I know how to flip a light switch, but not control all the lights on the stage. Oh well, that's their problem. Munny was good, 500 a night. I hung the pass around my neck.  
  
"Erm, you can go through now," the receptionist gestured to the door at the back of the room and went back to filing her talon-nails. I nodded and walked through. Being the first person anywhere was always uncomfortable, but it was especially embarrassing now. I sat alone in one of the padded chairs; there were no windows to stare out of, or magazines to flick through, so I was bored.  
  
After what felt like an eternity of staring at my fingernails, I heard a door creak open. I looked up and saw the woman from the poster looking at me curiously. She was wearing a baby blue dressing gown and had her hair wrapped up in a towel, although her earrings still hung down, she was in the process of removing them when she spotted me.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry...I didn't realise. Maybe I came to the wrong place." I stood up to leave, but she smiled.  
  
"It's alright." She walked across the room and sat down in the chair next to me, so I sat down as well. "I hear you're the head of the lighting crew?" I nodded and she noticed my guilty look. "It's ok, even though you look a it young. Most people don't know what to do either. Most of them don't actually get to work either."  
  
"So, why do you hire them?" she contemplated an answer for a while, then just shrugged.  
  
"Who knows? So, what's your name?" she turned to face me and smoothed the creases out of her dressing gown.  
  
"I'm Sora. I'm a speaker, this is just a little detour."  
  
"Oh, where's your fighter?"  
  
"He's auditioning too."  
  
"What for?"  
  
"I don't know, but he went to the stage, so I guess it must be dancing." She giggled. "What's so funny?"  
  
"Oh, I only hope he wasn't the boy who couldn't dance at all. They sent him away so quickly." She saw the look on my face and amended her answer, "I mean, that's probably not him, there were lots of people dancing anyway." I felt the sinking feeling in my heart. I almost knew that was Glenn, but then again it could not be. If it was, I was going to seriously kill him. I mean if I got into any trouble, he wouldn't be able to pull me out of it, and I wasn't allowed to fight.  
  
After a short pause, I asked Lenne, "Why am I in the dressing room anyway, where's everyone else?"  
  
"Well..." she was thinking about how to word this, I could tell, "you know it said on the poster, 'jobs will be given on a first come first served basis'? Well, the first to get a job gets to meet me 'personally', and the rest get a speech. That's what it means by 'meet Lenne'" I didn't like the way she said personally, so I decided to ask.  
  
"What do you mean by 'personally'?" again with the thinking over answers.  
  
"Well, to put it one way, being a singer doesn't rake in enough cash. I need to 'do' other stuff to get a little extra money. You do understand?" I completely understood. No wonder I saw those girls crying earlier, they only let boys get the first job. What kind of a mess am I in now?  
  
"Erm..." I wasn't sure what to say.  
  
"It's all right, just think about it. I'll be back in a minute, I'm just gonna go have a shower." And with one suggestive look, she left. I sat in my seat, stunned. What had I just been asked? Even if...no. That's ridiculous. I sat still for a while, then I realised, if I just opened the door and walked out, then I wouldn't have to come up with any weird explanations, or anything.  
  
The door I had entered by was locked; I wasn't about to try the door which Lenne had just walked through, just in case she thought I had changed my mind. I rattled the door handle of the only other door in the room. And of course, it didn't open. They weren't gonna be so stupid as to let me get out. I gulped and realised that if I was gonna get out, the door to the shower might be my only way. I walked slowly towards it, feeling as if it was a death sentence.  
  
I am, or rather I was only 14 when I was alive, it's not right. My hand wavered over the door handle, praying there might be another way. I could have just misunderstood. How could I possibly misunderstand? I stood debating, but then I heard the handle being turned from the other side and I leapt backwards.  
  
Through the door strode a man with blond hair and blue eyes. He looked about 20 and was much taller than me. I hoped he didn't notice me, but standing in the middle of the room, I was hardly inconspicuous.  
  
"So..." he waltzed over to me, glaring every second, "You know Lenne?"  
  
"Not personally," I then realised after I had said 'personally' that it wasn't the best idea to use that word.  
  
"Of course you don't cos she's mine." His voice rose in volume slightly, but he still looked calm.  
  
"Yours?" I thought he might be another person who had chosen a job first and not known what they were in for.  
  
"Yes. Mine." He looked mad now, and his voice was getting gradually louder, "My girlfriend." He had moved from the door to almost a metre away from me, and my eardrums felt ready to burst.  
  
"Ok, I had no intention of..." he cut me off  
  
"Yeah right. That's what they all say. All those lowlifes who come in here and throw their money at her, do you know how hard it is to put up with that? Do you?" I had to step back; his face was barely an inch from mine. "I'm so fed up now, you know. The last time I found someone in here, I swore to kill the next one. And guess what...that's you." I felt his fist connect with my face and I was sent flying across the room and crashed into one of the chairs, breaking it and what felt like all the bones in my body.  
  
I gulped. I hadn't even wanted to come here at first, it wasn't even my idea, and now the prospect of a second death loomed over me. This guy didn't seem very sane, so I had no choice but to believe him. I looked around the room, for something to fight with. I then remembered that I couldn't. I now had to talk things through. One more look at that guys face made my mind up. I didn't care what the consequences were; I was going to fight him. I'm not gonna stand here and wait for myself to be torn apart by this jealous psycho. I grabbed a chair leg that I had conveniently smashed.  
  
Through my panicked thought, I hadn't noticed the bottle smashing, or the scarily short distance at which it was being held away from my neck. I came back to reality, when the door swung open with a bang and a scream echoed in the room. The man turned around.  
  
"Shuyin!" it was Lenne.  
  
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There, enjoy. Next weekend, I'll put the next chapter up. I hope you like it.  
  
Feedback is always appreciated.  
  
xxx The One-winged Pegasus xxx 


	6. Glimpses

Ok, firstly everyone, I am SO SO SO sorry. I've been so busy, loads of exams and murderous coursework have been taking up my spare time, and I've seriously been so busy.  
  
I'm sorry  
  
Disclaimer- I don't own kingdom Hearts characters or otherwise.  
  
So, here's the much delayed 6th chapter...sorry.  
  
"Shuyin!" Lenne yelled, moving quickly towards him in an attempt to pull his arm away from me. Shuyin turned around, and ran forwards to meet her, a softer expression on his face,  
  
"Lenne, you're back! How was your shower?" he smiled sweetly and tried to hug Lenne, but she pushed him off,  
  
"Shuyin, I've had enough of you." She proclaimed, wrenching the broken bottle out of his hand, cutting her own fingers at the same time, "You have too many personalities, I can't cope."  
  
"But Lenne..."  
  
"No buts Shuyin," her eyes were burning with hatred. She only stopped staring straight in his eyes to wrap her bleeding fingers in her dressing gown, wincing and whimpering. "We're through."  
  
"..." Shuyin was silent, he looked at his feet, then Lenne, then the door, then her fingers, then finally at me and I knew I was in trouble. "You," he rounded on me, advancing slowly. I backed off, until I could move no further and was up against the door. "You told her to say all this didn't you? You want Lenne all for yourself!"  
  
Thump. His hands were at my throat. I stammered in vain to try and force a reply, but he was putting pressure on my windpipe and crushing me against the rough surface of the door. My back was in agony, pushed against the door handle and my throat was no better off.  
  
"She's mine I tell you!" Shuyin was positively screaming now, flecks of spit flew onto my face from his bellowing mouth. I tried to struggle, but his grip was too strong. Here I go again, I thought, where will you end up after multiple deaths? I considered this as my breathing became so frantic that I was choking so much. It was as if a metal hand was squeezing my windpipe, closing it so that no air could get through. I closed my eyes; I just wanted to go. The pain was atrocious.  
  
A smash of glass told my foggy brain that Lenne had attempted to stop Shuyin, but to no avail as I heard him scream again and strangle me harder. I was about to go, I could tell. Someone had better tell Glenn where I'd gone...  
  
A second later, the metal grip had subsided and I felt like floating. My insides were so light, I guess this is how a balloon feels, and then almost as suddenly as it had gone, the pain came crashing back. I felt air being forced into my system, the oxygen rushing to my brain and through my blood. I opened my eyes to see someone giving my mouth-to-mouth and then I gave up, once I was breathing properly again and fainted.  
  
Waking up in someone else's bed is never easy, especially if you couldn't remember why you were there. I looked around the room and saw pink oozing from every surface; I shuddered and then felt my throat, at once the memories flooded back. A jewel encrusted mirror showed me the angry bruises around my neck, but I was alive, well not exactly, but as alive as I was going to get.  
  
"Hey, how's the Chief of the lighting crew doing?" Lenne was smiling at me from a dressing table, now wearing something other than a dressing gown; this outfit included a blue top, black skirt and knee-high brown boots. I grinned back, and she came to sit on the edge of the bed. "Shuyin is gone now, don't worry." She patted me on the shoulder, "Are you feeling ok Sora? The performance is in half an hour, I wouldn't want you to miss out on your munny.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," I swung my legs over the bed and stood up, surprised that I wasn't shaky. "Where do I have to go?" my question was answered by a scruffy looking man, who swung the door open,  
  
"I'm lookin' for the...ah there he is! C'mon mate, we gotta go." His hair was a dark brown and stuck out oddly, blue-tinted sunglasses obscured his eyes and many necklaces and manner of rings adorned his body. A baggy green shirt with numerous stains hung limply over his surprisingly tight jeans. I walked over to the man, who was grinning awkwardly, "Oh, and Lenne," he added before closing the door, "We need you at the stage in 10 minutes, somethin' to do with the microphones." She smiled and begun to apply mascara.  
  
The man waltzed down the corridor, grinning at everyone, waving and shouting to people who would never have been able to hear him. I began to get bored, I wasn't really in the mood for this and I needed to get on with the journey if I ever hoped to see Riku again. It was all Glenn's fault we were here. Speaking of Glenn, where is he? I looked around the corridors, which were painted a lurid green. We passed a line of what looked like back- up dancers judging by the outfits, he wasn't there. Stupid boy.  
  
The shabby man stopped outside a door, which would have been undistinguishable from the rest, except it was plastered in pictures of light bulbs. It must have been this man's idea of a joke because he was laughing away. I looked at him quizzically.  
  
"We're here," he looked down at me, the grin wiping off his face in an instant, "Ouch, what happened to your neck? Oh yeah, I'm Kurro. Weird nickname, don't ask." He stuck out his hand and I shook it grudgingly, feeling the rings grinding into my fingers. "We gotta go through here and get you clued up." I nodded and followed him through the door into a room full of switches and numerous broken lighting implements.  
  
Kurro then launched into a long complicated explanation of the lighting and at the end of it, he then informed me that I wasn't going to be working in here, as he had just spent 15 minutes explaining, but by the edge of the stage. I held back my anger and followed him again; I was really turning into a sheep.  
  
You could see the crowd through a gap in the curtains, it was filling up fast, as I was staring through the gap in the curtains, Kurro 'kindly' explained to me what I had to do. Flip one switch when the performance started, and one when it ended. Fun. Still, it was better than actually being on stage.  
  
"Well, see ya lil' buddy." Kurro patted me on the shoulder then wandered off, picking up someone else's coffee in the process. I was glad to see him go, turning to my right, I saw a huddle of back up dancers and the singers. My jaw dropped, standing next to a blonde girl and a short brown haired boy was Glenn. Oh, I'm really gonna kill him. Lucky for Glenn, Kurro then ushered them all off into another room probably to give them a boring pep talk. I wandered over to the switch and waited.  
  
The screams from the crowd intensified as I saw Lenne walk through the curtain, I flipped the switch, just as I was supposed to and the spotlight shone onto her head. The show then began. Watching through the curtains, I was terribly bored. Sure, she could sing, but concerts weren't my thing and after hearing the same song over and over again, as Kurro kept walking past humming, I began to get really annoyed. I was glad when it was the interval. Lenne walked back through the curtain as I flipped the switch again.  
  
"Oh..." She flopped into a chair, holding her fingers tightly. I forgot that she had hurt them earlier and they looked pretty nasty. Many of her entourage gathered around her, handing out water and re-doing her make-up. I made a beeline for the singers who had just exited the stage, the curtain being hold apart for them by Kurro, geez that guy gets everywhere. Glenn's ecstatic grin faded when he saw my neck,  
  
"What happened to your...?" but I wasn't paying attention. Through the open curtain I could see something heavenly, it was as if a ray from the skies illuminated the spot where he stood. There he was, the person I had been waiting to see. He was standing a little way back in the crowd, but there was no mistaking his silvery blue hair and sparkling eyes that I remembered all too well. He stood next to a shorter person with long slivery purple hair, laughing. His smile lit up the stadium and there was no rational reason for me not to run out to reach him.  
  
"Riku!" I yelled and tore past a surprised Kurro, hearing a 'Whoa lil' buddy' as I passed. I rushed across the stage, tripping slightly in my haste, dodging the props and leaping into the crowd from the edge of the stage, people parted out of the way with disgruntled expressions, but I didn't care. Shoving bewildered civilians out of the way, I rushed towards the spot, but when I reached the place where he had been standing only seconds before, he had gone.  
  
I looked up at the sky; the muggy feeling in the air signalled rain and the heavens opened, pouring liquid onto our heads. Most of the crowd ran for shelter, but I stood, rooted to the spot. I flopped onto the ground, beating my fists into the nearly sodden soil. I felt something under my right fist, lifting it up; I saw a glint of silver. There was a small locket on the floor, with a silver chain. I picked it up carefully, turning it over in my fingers. On one side of the locket was a small engraving of a raven. It took me a few seconds, but then something clicked. I searched in my pocket for my necklace and found it.  
  
The similarity was astounding. I deduced that it was Riku's and held it close to my chest. By the time Glenn had reached me, both necklaces were in my pocket and I was rubbing my eyes in an embarrassed way. He surveyed me with his piercing orange eyes and put his arm around my shoulders, muttering comforting phrases, looking embarrassed as the crowd moved back around us. I took a final sniff and gulped,  
  
"Let's go, I can't stand it here anymore." I looked up to the stage where the performance had started again.  
  
"Ok," Glenn hastily let go of my shoulders and we walked off towards one of the doors labelled 'EXIT' in large green letters. I turned to look at Glenn and realised that hew as still wearing his costume. I snorted. "Hmph, you cheered up quickly," Glenn grunted, looking hurt.  
  
"Sorry," he waved his hand at me as if to say 'that's ok' and we found the edge of the city easily enough. The path stretched ahead of us again, with no sign of life. The fields were greener on this side of town, which reminded me of something my mum had said, 'The grass is always greener on the other side'. Of course, then she had been referring to the neighbours' garden, but it seemed to refer to this town too. I had a feeling things might become a bit easier, but I doubt it. A rumble disturbed my thoughts.  
  
I looked around, expecting some sort of monster, but I saw Glenn clutching his stomach,  
  
"Ok, before we leave can we get some food please?" I laughed at the expression on his face,  
  
"Sure. Oh crap. I forgot to get my wages. I can't afford any food."  
  
"S'no problem. I got yours for you. That Kurro just gave it to me before I went after you." There was a pause. "Why did you run into the crowd?" I had to answer,  
  
"Well, umm, you know I was looking for someone, well I saw them in the crowd,"  
  
"Oh yeah! Your girlfriend! You shouted 'Riku' right? Pretty name, you'll have to tell me about her." I blushed a deep shade of red and turned away, feeling completely uncomfortable. I was going to have to tell him soon.  
  
"Let's get that food now," I said, not looking at Glenn, hastily changing the subject.  
  
I was going to tell him then.  
  
I am going to tell him.  
  
I will tell him.  
  
Again, I am so sorry about the delay. You have to tell me how this chapter measured up.  
  
Thanks.  
  
xxx The one-winged Pegasus xxx 


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